ThalassiaBoard

How's everyone doing?

Vektras wrote:

How's everyone doing?

im doing good, how about you?

Yaldian Territories wrote:

im doing good, how about you?

Just riding out the quarantine.

Hello, everyone. I just wanted to take a moment to explain to you what has and will be happening with regards to the Presidency moving forward. As you may know Cormac resigned from the Presidency. We wish him well moving forward in his future endeavors and thank him for his service to the region.

Constitutionally, I am required to hold a Presidential Election no later than seven days after the resignation of the previous President. However, the government was in the process of releasing legislation that would have changed executive powers and the Presidency itself, namely abolishing it. We had already introduced and were going to publicly release this legislation before the resignation of the President. As such, we did not want to hold a Presidential Election before this legislation was voted on to avoid a potentially confusing situation. To that end, we are publicly releasing this legislation to be sent to referendum now so that the vote may be held before the seven day period. The legislation has been introduced and the public discussion period will be opened at Acting President Liruslau's earliest convenience.

I would like to take a moment to explain why we had chosen to pursue this legislation in the first place. I was elected on a platform of reform and to that end this government has painstakingly examined all aspects of the government to try and rationalize and streamline the governing process. To that end, we determined that the Presidency itself was redundant and we embarked on an effort to make the executive more efficient. We came to the conclusion that the best course of action was to abolish the Presidency and invest the executive powers in it with the Founder. After thorough discussions with all parties involved, including the President and Cabinet, the decision was made to write and publish legislation to that end with unanimous agreement. I truly believe that this is the best way forward to better serve the citizens and values of Thalassia. Thank you all and I hope you all have a good day. Semper Thalassia!

Referendum Proposal: Executive Powers Amendment

by The Kingdom of Arenado

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Executive Powers Amendment

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The following proposal to amend the Constitution of the Republic of Thalassia has been authored by Prime Minister Arenado and Wymondham1, edited with the assistance of MoAA, approved by Cabinet, and put to referendum by Acting President Liruslau.

Residents will have one day to discuss this proposal on the Regional Message Board, followed by two days for voting.

A proposal to amend the Constitution requires a 3/4 vote in favor at referendum in order to pass.

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1. Article II of the Constitution shall be stricken and all subsequent articles appropriately renumbered.

2. All powers and duties granted to the President outside of Article II shall instead be granted to the Founder.

3. Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution shall be amended as follows:

1. The Founder is the fail-safe for Thalassia. head of state of Thalassia.

4. The following shall be added into the Constitution as Article IV, Sections 11 through 20:

11. The Founder shall hold all powers available to a Regional Officer, including Executive power. The Founder shall determine which powers are appropriate to grant to other Regional Officers, and may revoke such powers if the Founder determines they have been abused.

12. The Founder may manage gameside regional administration controls and Regional Message Board (RMB) moderation, and may delegate access to gameside regional administration controls and RMB moderation to others.

13. The Founder, with joint agreement from the Prime Minister, may proscribe a region, organisation or individual.

14. In the event of a serious dispute over legal interpretation, the Founder may resolve such a dispute, and the Founder's ruling on legal interpretation under such circumstances shall be binding upon all parties.

15. The Founder may reformat this Constitution without a referendum, providing no changes to laws are made.

16. The Founder shall organize the Prime Ministerial election and all referendums.

17. The Founder shall invite the elected Prime Minister to form a cabinet.

18. The Founder shall participate in cabinet meetings, and may advise the Prime Minister, and any other government members.

19. The Founder shall suppress the promotion, through any medium, of any off-site forum or chat platform for use in Thalassia unless it is specifically authorized by this Constitution. The Founder may summarily ban any resident engaged in such promotion.

20. In the event that Thalassia is, in the judgment of the Founder, subject to an attempted or actual invasion, or a coup d'etat, the Founder may declare a state of emergency, suspending this Constitution until the Founder ends the state of emergency. A state of emergency may be overturned by a referendum. Only those who were WA residents before the state of emergency may vote in such a referendum.

5. Article IV, Section 4 will be removed and all subsequent sections renumbered.

4. If the Prime Minister is unavailable, the Founder shall organize the elections for President, and may appoint any WA citizen of Thalassia to serve as the Acting President.

6. Article IV, Section 5 will be removed and all subsequent sections renumbered.

5. If the President is unavailable, the Founder shall organize the elections for Prime Minister, and may appoint any WA citizen of Thalassia to serve as the Acting Prime Minister.

7. Article IV, Section 6 will be removed and all subsequent sections renumbered.

6. If no other government officials are available, the Founder shall oversee all referendums.

8. The following shall be added into the constitution as "Article II. The WA Delegate" and all subsequent sections renumbered:

Article II. The WA Delagate

1. The WA Delegate of Thalassia shall administer matters related to the WA in Thalassia, including determination of their own vote on behalf of Thalassia in the WA, as well as WA voting, and endorsement programs.

2. The WA Delegate may participate in cabinet meetings at the discretion of the Prime Minister, and may advise the Prime Minister, and any other government members on matters relating to the World Assembly.

Selection and Removal of the WA Delegate

3. The WA Delegate shall be a WA resident elected to serve for a term of five months.

4. The WA Delegate, and the Vice Delegate, may be removed from office by referendum.

5. Should the nation with which the WA Delegate was elected voluntarily relocate for longer than one game update, cease to exist, resign from the WA, or be expelled from the WA, the WA Delegate shall automatically be removed from office.

6. The WA Delegate shall, upon taking office, appoint a WA resident to serve as Vice Delegate, and shall appoint a new Vice Delegate anytime the office is vacant. The Vice Delegate shall endeavor to hold the second most endorsements in the region, shall assist the WA Delegate in their duties, and shall serve as Vice Delegate only for the duration the WA Delegate who appointed them serves, unless reappointed by a subsequent WA Delegate. Appointment or reappointment of the Vice Delegate shall be subject to referendum.

7. Should the nation with which the WA Delegate was elected voluntarily relocate for longer than one game update, cease to exist, resign from the WA, or be expelled from the WA, the WA Delegate shall automatically be removed from office. Should the nation with which the Vice Delegate was appointed, do any of the preceding, the Vice Delegate will automatically be removed from office.

8. In the event of the WA Delegacy vacating the office, an election shall be held no longer than 7 days after the office was vacated. The Vice Delegate shall serve as Acting WA Delegate until a new WA Delegate is elected. If the office of Vice Delegate is vacant, the Founder may appoint any WA citizen of Thalassia to serve as the Acting WA Delegate.

9. Article III, Section 5 shall be amended as follows:

5. The Prime Minister shall organize the Presidential elections. WA Delegate elections.

10. Article VII, Section 14, subsection c, shall be amended as follows:

c. an appointment of a Vice President Vice Delegate.

11. Article VII, Section 16, subsection d, shall be amended as follows:

d. a removal of the Vice President; and Vice Delegate; and

12. Article VII, Section 16, subsection e, shall be amended as follows:

e. an appointment or reappointment of the Vice President. Vice Delegate.

13. Article VII, Section 17, subsection a, shall be amended as follows:

a. a removal of the President; Delegate;

14. Article I, Section 10 shall be amended as follows:

gather endorsements, subject only to a limit designated by the President WA Delegate with the assent of the Founder; and

Read dispatch

And here it is: the Executive Powers amendment! As per the Constitution, we’ll have 1 day for discussion and 2 days for voting.

I’d encourage everyone to get behind this amendment.

I’ve raised concerns in the past about the lack of checks and balances over the Presidency and our reliance on trusting that whoever is elected will use their powers in the best interests of the region. Fortunately we have mostly been lucky in the past but that shouldn’t be a reason for complacency. Previous suggestions have been a judiciary or someone who can impartially interpret the law and its application on appeals. Both create an extra layer of bureaucracy. This amendment removes an unnecessary figurehead and places those powers in the hands of someone we inherently trust - the founder.

As the person controlling the founder ultimately controls the region it makes sense that we entrust these important roles and responsibilities in their hands.

Veaetmar wrote:

I’d encourage everyone to get behind this amendment.

I’ve raised concerns in the past about the lack of checks and balances over the Presidency and our reliance on trusting that whoever is elected will use their powers in the best interests of the region. Fortunately we have mostly been lucky in the past but that shouldn’t be a reason for complacency. Previous suggestions have been a judiciary or someone who can impartially interpret the law and its application on appeals. Both create an extra layer of bureaucracy. This amendment removes an unnecessary figurehead and places those powers in the hands of someone we inherently trust - the founder.

As the person controlling the founder ultimately controls the region it makes sense that we entrust these important roles and responsibilities in their hands.

This ^. I fully support this amendment and urge my fellow Thalassians to do the same

I fully support this amendment, it's really the best thing for Thalassia.

*Amendment gets one vote from me! *

So if the WA delegate resigns from office, who will take his/her place as acting delegate?

Going to assume that the founder would try to do that, but I'm not sure.

Veaetmar wrote:

I’d encourage everyone to get behind this amendment.

I’ve raised concerns in the past about the lack of checks and balances over the Presidency and our reliance on trusting that whoever is elected will use their powers in the best interests of the region. Fortunately we have mostly been lucky in the past but that shouldn’t be a reason for complacency. Previous suggestions have been a judiciary or someone who can impartially interpret the law and its application on appeals. Both create an extra layer of bureaucracy. This amendment removes an unnecessary figurehead and places those powers in the hands of someone we inherently trust - the founder.

As the person controlling the founder ultimately controls the region it makes sense that we entrust these important roles and responsibilities in their hands.

I'm glad this amendment will happen. I agree with the role of WAD. Honestly to have two consecutive presidents resign before their term ended was inconvenient. The presidency was a sign of unity and to have presidents resign may cause a constant shift in regional unity. I'm looking forward to support the amendment.

Ayeinc wrote:

So if the WA delegate resigns from office, who will take his/her place as acting delegate?

Perhaps,  the Prime Minister will temporarily appoint someone

I'm also on board with this amendment. The turnover of presidents was too high. What of we also proposed a legislative body? Such as a parliament,assembly, council, or congress ?

The DSA wishes Thalassia lots of love and good luck. Cormactopia prime you need to make the right decision for you personally independent of what it entails for NationsStates, I wish you good luck in your life.

Dekks wrote:

The DSA wishes Thalassia lots of love and good luck. Cormactopia prime you need to make the right decision for you personally independent of what it entails for NationsStates, I wish you good luck in your life.

Thank you for your message Dekks, we appreciate that (and I’m sure Cormac will also)!

The amendment makes sense, the presidency was really only needed in Pacifica, and it is reall irrelevant now.

While I always dislike shifting power to an unelected official, I am in support of this amendment.

Badivermeraed wrote:

The amendment makes sense, the presidency was really only needed in Pacifica, and it is reall irrelevant now.

This sums it up very well. The Presidency has been riddled with issues from the start, and Sho, as the founder and someone we can trust to ensure the region's safety, would be a fitting replacement.

However, I do feel like a position of a Vice Delegate, in case of the Delegate's removal for some reason, would be fitting, as to have someone designated to take over the position in the period without a delegate, likely post any potential resignation.

And out of curiosity, since the Founder will be encompassing the President's role, will the WA Delegate maintain executive powers or will they be removed, if a Vice Delegate like position is not introduced and in case the WA Delegate resigns, to stop any potential "raiding" by someone in the region endotarting with malicious intent.

Toerana iii wrote:

Snip

Well, I guess the amendment will get amended sometime in the future. That's how bureaucracy works(sadly).

RP

The German government is asking all nations of Thalassia if the German flag should be changed to look more like a republic and not a empire.

The 3nd german republic wrote:

RP

The German government is asking all nations of Thalassia if the German flag should be changed to look more like a republic and not a empire.

doesnt look super empireal to me, but if anyone is complaining, you could take significance from the symbol, and slightly lighten the background colors. And on how to take significance, you could just downsize the symbol.

If you are talking about more of a total flag redo, then i could help with ideas. I love making flags, and i know some tricks.
i use https://andrewsarnold.github.io/FlagMaker-Jr/

Yaldian Territories wrote:

doesnt look super empireal to me, but if anyone is complaining, you could take significance from the symbol, and slightly lighten the background colors. And on how to take significance, you could just downsize the symbol.

If you are talking about more of a total flag redo, then i could help with ideas. I love making flags, and i know some tricks.
i use https://andrewsarnold.github.io/FlagMaker-Jr/

Yeah I have a few ideas on what it could end up being.

One idea is getting rid of the blue and replacing it with a bright yellow.

The Second idea is making it like the German flag in real life but with the German cross and a Canton with a eagle in it.

I am in full support of this amendment. Any concerns being raised over the dangers of granting great powers to an unelected official are really invalid, because the Founder is by default in control of the region. Thalassia was built on the idea of a democracy regulated by a trusted Founder, so it seems to me that if we want to balance the power of the President, the best way to do it, as Veaetmar noted, without adding extra layers of bureaucracy, is by shifting certain powers from the Presidency to the Founder, effectively naming the Founder as the head of state and the "President" as the WA Delegate. We all trust in Sho's competence and know that she won't abuse any of the powers being officially granted to her, because as the Founder, she has already held these powers and has always made efforts to leave other parts of government to their own functions while still actively helping out everywhere.

Czech germania wrote:

I am in full support of this amendment. Any concerns being raised over the dangers of granting great powers to an unelected official are really invalid, because the Founder is by default in control of the region. Thalassia was built on the idea of a democracy regulated by a trusted Founder, so it seems to me that if we want to balance the power of the President, the best way to do it, as Veaetmar noted, without adding extra layers of bureaucracy, is by shifting certain powers from the Presidency to the Founder, effectively naming the Founder as the head of state and the "President" as the WA Delegate. We all trust in Sho's competence and know that she won't abuse any of the powers being officially granted to her, because as the Founder, she has already held these powers and has always made efforts to leave other parts of government to their own functions while still actively helping out everywhere.

Reminds me like a constitutional monarchy in a sense. The monarch is a ceremonial figure with limited to no power at all. Ever since the presidents resignations I was going propose we abolished the presidency since we had two turnovers intra term. They beat me to it.

Some small edits have been made to the EPA to include a Vice Delegate and procedures if both the Delegate and Vice Delegate offices are vacant. Thank you all for your suggestions and input!